Drunk Colorado Grad Shot After Wandering Into Couple's Home

Recent graduate Zoe Ripple, 21, was unarmed and allegedly intoxicated when she entered the multimillion-dollar home of Doreen Orion and Timothy Justice through an unlocked screen door, and was shot in the hip after entering their bedroom.

A drunk woman will be charged with felony trespassing after she wandered into a couple's home in Boulder, Colo. on Wednesday, the Boulder District Attorney's Office said Friday.

Recent University of Colorado Boulder
college graduate Zoey Ripple, 21, was unarmed and intoxicated when she entered the multimillion dollar home of Doreen Orion and Timothy Justice through an unlocked screen door on Wednesday night.

The couple called 911 after Ripple walked into their bedroom, they screamed at her to leave, and then fired a single shot at her, which hit her in the hip, when she continued to walk into the room.

Her blood alcohol level was three times the legal level, according to police. Ripple was fine after being shot, though she seemed "stoned," as Orion told 911 dispatchers in the phone call.

Orion, noted author of the book "Queen of the Road," and Justice will not face any charges for shooting Ripple because of Colorado's "Make My Day" law, which allows residents to use deadly force against home intruders.

But Ripple will be charged with first-degree criminal trespassing of a dwelling, which could land her in state prison. The reason she entered Orion and Justice's home in the first place is still unknown.

Ripple did have a 2010 charge for shoplifting on her record, to which she pleaded guilty, but the charges were later dropped, according to The Denver Post.

Her friends and her attorney think the felony charge for Wednesday's incident is far too harsh.

"She had no criminal intent when she entered the home," said Ripple's attorney, Colette Cribari,, in a statement. "She has been truly traumatized by this, and I think getting shot should be punishment enough."

The Boulder County District Attorney said that Ripple isn't the only drunk college student to wander into someone's home--there are some 12 to 15 cases each year, which often lead to violence.

In fact, another case took place on Thursday, the night after Ripple entered Orion and Price's home, the DA's office told The Post, though no violence took place.